Weapons

SourceStarfinder Core Rulebook pg. 303Whether the PCs are in the Vast or near a Pact Worlds planet, space is a dangerous place, plagued with hostile aliens, raiders, and worse. As a result, most ships protect themselves with a variety of weapons, ranging from laser cannons to solar torpedoes.

Weapons must be installed on special mounts on a ship, specified in the ship’s base frame (see page 294). These mounts are designed for optimal firing and are placed so that they can be easily tied into the ship’s power and control systems. They also prevent the weapon from affecting the course or speed of a ship when fired.

Weapons are classified using the following key statistics.

Name

This is the name of the weapon.

Class

Weapons belong to one of three classifications. Light weapons can be mounted on any ship but are most typically found on smaller fighters and bombers. While dangerous, light weapons do not have the firepower necessary to damage very large starships. Heavy weapons are a serious threat to any vessel but can be mounted only on Medium or larger starships. Capital weapons can be mounted only on Huge or larger starships. Capital weapons can’t be brought to bear against Tiny or Small targets and are typically used only against other large vessels.

Type

Starship weapons are one of two types. Direct-fire weapons fire projectiles or beams at amazing speed, targeting the opposing vessel’s AC. Tracking weapons’ projectiles are slower and must home in using a target’s TL. A tracking weapon’s projectile has a listed speed; once fired, it moves that number of hexes toward its target. Each subsequent round during the gunnery phase, it must succeed at a gunnery check against the target’s TL to continue to move its speed toward its target. On a failure, the projectile is lost. If the projectile reaches the target’s hex, it deals the listed damage.

Range

Weapons have one of three ranges: short range (5 hexes), medium range (10 hexes), or long range (20 hexes). As with characterscale ranged attacks, an attack with a starship weapon takes a cumulative –2 penalty for each range increment (or fraction thereof, beyond the first) between it and the target. A gunner firing a tracking weapon takes a range penalty only on her first gunnery check, when the target is first acquired. A starship weapon can fire at a target up to 10 range increments away.

Speed

This is the distance in hexes a tracking weapon moves toward its target each round during the gunnery phase. Projectiles from a tracking weapon have perfect maneuverability, and as such, they have a minimum turn distance of 0 (see page 319).

Damage

This is the amount of damage (in Hull Points) the weapon deals when it successfully hits a target. See Shooting Starships on page 292 for guidelines on how starship weapons can affect characters.

PCU

This is the amount of PCU consumed by the weapon. It uses this amount continuously whenever the weapon is powered up and ready to fire.

Cost

This is the cost of the weapon in Build Points.

Special Properties

Linking Weapons

If you install two of the same direct-fire weapon in the same firing arc, you can link them together so they fire as one. This costs a number of Build Points equal to half the cost of one of the weapons (rounded down) and consumes a negligible amount of PCU.